Don't refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly

Last night, our Relief Society had a great discussion about simplifying our lives. We were talking about technology and the great power it has to help us be organized, record our lives, find ideas, and reach out to others. As we spoke of positive and negative parts of technology, I was reminded of a warning our stake primary presidency had given us. They told us not to go to the internet for ideas for our sharing times before we went to the Lord. There are so many resources online with great ideas. It is easy to fall into the trap of not asking the Lord what the kids in our own ward need and instead finding a fun and exciting idea that may not meet the needs of those we teach.

This morning as I read in 2 Nephi 18 (which is also Isaiah 8,) I found that the Lord warned of the very same kind of thing for them, but on a physical level. I don't understand the history as well as I'd like, but I've been trying to learn about it. In chaper 17, we find that Israel (not Judah) whose king is Pekah and united with Rezin, king of Syria to come up against Judah, whose king is Ahaz (father of Hezakiah). Ahaz, threatened by this, turns to Tiglath-Pilezer, king of Assyria, and forms a treaty. Much of this is very confusing to me because of a few erroneous thoughts:

1. Assyria and Syria are not the same country

2. Israel is not the same as Judah. Israel is comprised of the 10 tribes, all but Judah and Benjamin. Israel is often referred to as Ephraim (see Bible Dictionary Israel, kingdom of) and for the past 200 years (since 925 BC) had been divided from Judah.

Remember that the head of Syria is Damascus (2 Nephi 17:8) that is destroyed just a few years later by Assyria (see http://moellerhaus.com/7-8.htm for interesting history and commentary.) Israel is also destroyed by Assyria shortly after this prophecy, thus scattering the 10 tribes.

Here is a list of all of the nations involved and their kings:

Judah: Ahaz

Syria: Rezin

Israel (the 10 tribes): Pekah (often referred to as Remaliah's son out of contempt- Isaiah couldn't even say his name he did such terrible things to Judah. See 2 Chronicles 28:5,6)

Assyria: Tiglath-Pilezer

It says in verses 6 and 7:

6Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of ^aShiloah that go softly, and rejoice in ^bRezin and Remaliah’s son;

7Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of ^aAssyria and all his glory; and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks.

The waters of Shiloah were from a spring outside of Jerusalem whose waters were later diverted into Hezakiah's tunnel and saved Jerusalem during a siege by providing water for Jerusalem.

Rather than trusting in the Lord to solve their problems, Ahaz made a treaty with Assyria. This brought them into subjugation to Assyria and soon caused the destruction of Damascus and Israel. But Judah was eventually saved by the waters of Shiloah.

I love the analogy of the waters of Shiloah that go softly as compared to the roaring, overflowing flood of the Assyrians who overflow all their banks. It reminds me of the warning from our primary stake presidency to seek the guidance of the spirit before we go to the internet for information. Today, we have the threat of spiritual destruction by an overflowing river of information that can drown out the promptings of the spirit. What happens to a small, softly flowing river when mixed with an overflowing river? It disappears. We need to remember to not refuse the waters of Shiloah that go softly and drown ourselves instead in the overflowing river of information from the world.

The language and attitude of Praising the Lord

I'm beginning to notice something marvelous about Nephi. I have already mentioned that he seems to play a game of praising the Lord to get him through hard times. But it goes much deeper than that. He never mentions the Lord without an adjective. "the great creator," (2 Nephi 9:3) "The Lord God," (2 Nephi 9:5,6) "the eternal God," (2 Nephi 9:8), "the Holy One of Israel," (2 Nephi 9:12). It's not just in 2 Nephi 9. It's all the time for Nephi, like a natural offshoot of the love and reverence he feels for his God. And if he doesn't use an adjective, he makes God personal by saying "our God." Seldom does he simply mention his name in passing without a special classifier.

Nephi can't write more than a few verses without breaking out in praise, often beginning with "O". Looking at 2 Nephi 9, we see it over and over. Here is a list:

O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! (vs. 8)

O how great the goodness of our God who prepareth a way for our escape . . . (vs. 10)

O how great the plan of our God! (vs. 13)

O the greatness and the justice of our God! (vs. 17)

O the greatness and the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! (vs. 19)

O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it. (vs. 20)

Chapter 9 is likely a beautiful poem in the language in which it was written and follows a pattern of praising God and his plan, expressing sorrow for those who sin, and inviting us to repent. Maybe the way in which he refers to God is done so out of tradition. But I think it is also a mark that his constant praising of the Lord has become a part of his language.

My family went on a trip this past week and went church with my aunt. The sister who was teaching Relief Society was moving after being in the area for a long time. Her testimony of the Savior was palpable as she shared the many ways in which he had helped her through her trials. At the very end of the lesson, she gave us a pencil and asked us to write down what we would say to Christ if He were to be there in front of us. That exercise in faith was quite difficult. What would I say to Him if He were here? What would my attitude be toward him? Would I be so overcome with embarrassment that I hadn't gotten closer to him or that I had acted so often according to my own will and wisdom? After I had finished apologizing to Him, I think it would be natural to praise Him and his role in the plan that makes it okay that I am not perfect today.

This teacher then shared a story about a dream her sister had in which a large room was full of people where Christ sat at the head. In the room there were no words, only the air was thick with a feeling of compassion, sorrow, and love for Christ and his sacrifice. Then, she was led to another room where there were only two people. Christ sat on the same throne and there was a child in front of him. Yet the room was filled with the same palpable feeling of compassion, sorrow, and love. This time, the emotion was from Christ toward the child.

Nephi very likely knew that in a conversation with his Lord and Savior, the Holy one of Israel, mercy and compassion can change our apologetic repentance into praise. Personal experience probably led Nephi to write his psalm in 2 Nephi 4 that turns "O wretched man that I am" into "Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation."